The Portrait
by The Bane of My Life
Summary: As Lily Evans enters Hogwarts, odd things start to happen. Not only is her best friend Sev and the prat Potter starting to get along, she's got a suspicious orange haired painting following her around. She's got a crush on one of the caretakers, and worst of all, why is You-Know-Who always targeting her?
1. Do I?

**The Portrait**

As most of his neighbors knew, Bradley Simmons was not an unusual man. Everyday, he woke up, showered, ate breakfast, and then walked to work… That just so happened to be inside a magical alley, inside a magical government building, inside an office that almost always seemed to be raining.

Yes, nothing unusual about it at all... Though every once in a while he would deal with some blundering Muggle that had the misfortune to stumble across a magical item, but for most of the time, he did paperwork. Ah yes, paperwork. The joy in any man's life.

Yes, Simmons worked for The Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes (It was quite a handful to say; personally he preferred the Department of Magical Screw Ups, much easier to remember).

He had a lovely wife, Alexandria Simmons, and no children, which was perfectly fine with him. Children, though a joy, would definitely be a handful to raise. Besides, he was only twenty- five, and had plenty time to change his mind later.

"Simmons."

Bradley turned. "Yes, sir?"

Pendy Schmidt glared at Bradley with his usual poker face and seated himself next to Bradley. "I have something I want you to take care of."

Now, Bradley was fair and even tempered man, and in this case he still was (for the most part). But something about his higher- up rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the face. Schmidt always had his business face on, even when he was smiling. (Or glaring, in this case. This ought to have made Bradley nervous, but Schmidt always glared at him, so it was no surprise by now.)

"What is it sir?" Bradley asked carefully. "Would you like me to work this Sunday again?"

"No, Simmons." Schmidt snapped. "The Obliviator Headquarters is short on manpower right now, since everyone's on vacation. There's a Muggle antique shop just outside of London, and it seems they've found a magical portrait. I want you to take care of it by the end of the week. Take whoever you want, as long as they don't lag behind on their paperwork."

Bradley groaned inwardly. He had never been very good at performing the Obliviating curse, and everyone was _always _behind on paperwork; which meant he would have to finish this job by himself. He'd better do it quickly, otherwise the paperwork would pile up way too quickly for him to finish.

"...Yes sir!"

* * *

Bradley glanced at the strip of parchment he had been provided, and then back up at the store.

Yes, it seemed like it was the right place. The store itself was old, and fit perfectly with the rest of the crumbling, rickety buildings beside it. In other words, reputable enough so that they would get a decent amount of customers, but shady enough so that they could actually get their hands on something as strange as a magical portrait.

Steeling his nerves- that almost always seemed to pop up right before a job- Bradley opened the door...

...And was greeted with loads of shouting.

"Shut up, you damn bugger! Why did I even purchase you anyways?!

"How am I supposed to know?! You were the fricking guy who decided to buy me! And I tell you, if I could still perform Kido, I'd fry your ass!"

"Young man, we do not say such vulgar words here!"

"Excuse me? I beg to differ? Weren't you just streaming curses at me a few moments ago? And you're making me annoyed enough to start saying everything as a question?"

"You- You- You- You rascal! I'm dumping you into the garbage the next time I get a chance!"

"As if? You're not going to do that? Because then you would've bought me for no reason?"

_"Stop with the questions!" _

Bradley coughed slightly, when he realized he got out of stupor. This was definitely a first. Of course, Muggles were always befuddled when they came across a magical object, but to have a argument with it... And for the portrait to actually _win_, to top it off...

The shopkeeper- who was in the back of the store, where Bradley couldn't see him- quickly bustled out to the front, where Bradley was standing. Looking quite red in the face, the stumpy man said quite sharply, "Didn't you see the sign?! We're clo- GREAT GOD! WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?"

Bradley looked down, slightly bemused. He didn't see anything wrong with it. He had looked in Ministry information on Muggle fashion, and he had bought accordingly. His wife had always praised him on his sense of pairing things together.

He was wearing a long, straight cloth, with a high waist, made out of cotton, and short jacket (Which the pamphlet in Muggle fashion identified as a pelisse. Perhaps it was Please?) And to top it off, a large baby blue bonnet.

Yes, it was all the rage in London right now. He'd seen many women wearing something similar many times in his life.

The storekeeper quickly recomposed himself, though not before casting one last look at Simmon's clothing.

"Well, as I was saying," He said, regaining his former snappish tone, "We're closed. And you, sir, must leave."

He was just about to push Bradley out the door, until the portrait grumbled from the back, "Oy, Toykoib, are you just going to leave me here?"

"My name isn't Toykoib, it's Tobias!" Tobias snapped back, and then glanced at Bradley nervously. "Terribly sorry sir, it's- er- my brother you see, he gets into these awful rages sometimes."

"Toykoib, Tokyopop, Shounen Jump, whatever. And I'm not your brother. You're an only child, remember?"

"H-H-How would you know that?" Tobias blustered, and the portrait sighed. "Because you told me, you son of a bitch."

By now, Bradley wasn't sure whether to start laughing or crying. While this sure was amusing to watch, it would definitely make his job a lot harder. Taking care of a startled Muggle was one thing, but a stubborn portrait... It wasn't like he could go and stun it into shutting up and agreeing to go along quietly.

"Er- Excuse me, Mr...?" He started.

"Jenking," Tobias answered quickly. "Tobias Jenking. Now if you excuse me, I'm a bit b-"

"Mr. Jenking," Bradley said firmly. "Correct me if I'm wrong; that is a portrait you're talking to, yes?"

Tobias gulped and said uneasily, "N-No sir, portraits can't speak... It's my brother, as I told you; he tends to get a bit delirious when he gets angry too-"

"You're the one who's delirious!" The portrait growled. "Hey, Mister, you a wizard?"

Bradley blinked. "Why, yes, I am."

Now it was Tobias' turn to look utterly confused.

"Good, explain the whole thing 'I'm-A-Magical-Painting-Of-A-Not-So-Dead-Person' to Naruto here, and get me out of this dump. It smells like troll dung in here."

Bradley sighed. This was going to take a while.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Tobias said, a cup in his hand. "You expect me to not only believe that 'magic' is real, but that you're a wizard and _he,_" He jerked his hand at the still out of sight portrait, "Is made out magic?"

"It's not like there's another good explanation," Bradley replied sensibly, sipping the tea he had been served. "You can't possibly believe that this is a figment of your imagination."

"Yes I can!" Tobias cried, banging his cup on the table. "I can perfectly well believe that, sir! At least it makes much more sense than- than- this rubbish! Magic! Absolutely ridiculous, and utterly impossible!"

"Look, Mr. Jenking," Bradley said tersely, starting to lose a bit of his patience, "I could very well just obliviate- I mean, erase your memory- you and be done with it, but I'm being kind, so maybe you won't need your memory wiped by the end the day. So will you just give me the portrait, and then we can all go home and forget about today."

But Tobias only shook his head. "I'm giving it away," He said stubbornly. "Not unless you want to buy it."

Bradley sighed (again), and took out his wallet. "How much?"

A gleam entered the shopkeeper's eye. "£5000."

Bradley, having no idea how much that was, agreed...

"Well that took a long time," The portrait commented. "And will you take this cloth off me? I can't see a thing."

"Just wait a bit," Bradley grumbled. His good had completely left him, and he was now feeling less than happy.

The rest of the day had not gone well at all.

When Bradley attempted to take out his money, he realized...

That he didn't have any Muggle money.

Needless to say, he attempted to pay in Galleons, but Tobias refused it, saying he only accepted _real _money. After a long, long, argument- it didn't help that the portrait chimed in at the worst moments- Bradley was forced to Obliviate him.

He hated Obliviating people.

"It _is _your fault that you forgot to bring Muggle money." The portrait pointed out rather irritably. "If you didn't want to obliviate him, then you ought to have realized that they only accept _Muggle_ money in _Muggle_ antique stores. Geez, don't take out on me; I'm not the one who forgot."

Bradley decided that it was much easier to hold a portrait sideways than upward (Though he admitted, not out loud, that he would've probably had to have Obliviated him anyways, seeing as he already told him about the Wizarding world).

As he walked down the cobbled streets of London, he looked at the color-streaked sky and blinked. It was almost time for supper.

Carefully, he considered his options. He could go back to the Ministry and turn this irritating portrait that would eventually drive him crazy- er, this important Wizarding item to Schmidt, and not only would he have extra time to finish his paperwork, he wouldn't have to deal with this _thing_ for any longer...

...Or he could have his evening meal right on time.

_Supper it is, _He thought, and strode down the cobblestone, completely ignoring the portrait's complaints and the strange glances he was receiving.

* * *

Alexandria Simmons openly gaped as her husband walked in with a navy blue dress and blue bonnet.

"Good evening Alexandria," He said smoothly as he put down a screaming piece of cloth (?) down on the floor. "Is supper ready?"

"Well, y-yes," She stammered, and hurried to escort him to the dining hall.

It was in a companionable silence that they ate, until Alexandria finally broke the silence. "Dear..."

"Yes?"

"May I ask... what you are wearing?"

Bradley blinked and looked down at his attire. "Well, today I had a job at a Muggle antique shop. It was my first going to do a Obliviating job by myself, you see, and I wanted to finish it, perhaps, without any need cast any spells at all. You know I have at blundering at the oddest things."

_You certainly do, _Alexandria thought, amused. _Just not at the things you expect._

"So, I decided to research a little on what Muggles wore," Bradley continued. "And wa-la, I decided to wear this." He gestured at his bonnet.

"Dear, did you ever go to any of the school dances, back at Hogwarts?" She asked, stifling her giggles.

"No," Bradley, blinked, obviously having no idea what his wife was getting to. Meanwhile, the portrait, still next to the door, seemed to have gotten the joke, and an uproarious laughter could be heard in the slight distance.

Alexandria got up and quickly excused herself. When she got to her bedroom, when collapsed into full blown laughter.

And at the same time, three people shook their heads.

_Women..._

_Dear... sometimes you have no common sense..._

_AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- tHESE- AHAHAHA- BRITISH WIZARDS- *COUGH, gASP*- ARE HILARIOUS! OH MAN, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA-_

* * *

Yeah people, I'M BACK (With a new username too. I used to be **HolyHappiness1230**, by the way.) I'm sorry for ignoring you **urufushinigami**, but I really needed a break from everything related with fanfiction for a bit.

Ok, so this is a prologue to a new story (that I'll probably abandon in the streets later on in life) that takes place in the 1810s or somethings. I bet I got a bunch of old English grammer mistakes, but I don't really know how people talked back then, so it's justified.

My OCs, Tobias, Bradley, Alexandria, and Pendy probably won't appear again, and if they do, they'll only be mentioned in passing. The portrait, which, as you can see, is a shinigami, and it'll probably be Ichigo, because he's awesome.

The story'll take place during James and Lily's time at Hogwarts (probably), because that almost never happens in Bleach/ Harry Potter crossovers and they're cool. I kind of want this to be short, like 10 chapters long or something so that there'll be less of a chance of me losing interest.

... And that's all I can think of for now. See you later...?


	2. I

Disclaimer and all: dun un anythin. alln rightsn belun tun J. K. Rowling and Tite Kubo.

* * *

Lily watched as the countryside sped past her window in the compartment she and Severus were sitting in. Opening the window, she sighed. So far, the trip had been uneventful... That is, if you call 'being harassed by an annoying black- haired boy' uneventful.

"What's this?" Lily blinked as Severus handed her a suspicious looking... frog?

"It's a chocolate frog," Severus said, as if that explained everything. "You know, a frog made out of chocolate?" And with that, he popped his into his mouth.

Lily made a face and stared at the frog that was desperately trying to get out of it's wrapper. "Are you sure this is... humane?"

Severus sighed. "They're not _really _frogs, you know," He said. "They're just charmed to life. They stop squiggling around after it gets into your mouth."

"Oh." With one last glance, Lily stuck her chocolate frog into her mouth.

It actually tasted like chocolate, which she supposed was a good thing. She was just about to throw the wrapper out the window until she noticed a card sticking out the corner.

"Sev, what's this?" Lily asked, pulling it out. Severus glanced up.

"Oh, that's a collectible card. Chocolate Frogs have these cards inside, and they all feature a famous witch or wizard." He leaned over Lily's shoulder to look at her card. "Lucky, you got Kurosaki! I've been looking for him for ages!"

Lily blinked and looked down at her card.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Currently Deceased

As a person living so early in the ages, not much is known about Ichigo Kurosaki today.

Famous for being the 5th Founder of Hogwarts, Kurosaki was the only founder who did not

have a House created after himself. He was responsible for the building and creating of the

secret passageways and chambers of Hogwarts as well as the protective shields

and defenses. His early life is shrouded in mystery, although his name infers that he was

not a native to England, or even Britain. Today, Kurosaki is the only Founder that today's wizards

have found a portrait to, and said item is currently residing in Hogwarts. Kurosaki, according to

said portrait, enjoys "... playing mind games with the brats and scaring dear Peevsies."

When she turned it over, a surprisingly young and Asian looking man looked at Lily oddly, and then disappeared off the card, strands of orange hair tied in a ponytail swinging behind him.

Lily gasped. "He's gone!"

Severus rolled his eyes good- naturedly. "Lily, it isn't like he's going to stay there just for you." He looked at his card. "Is this Agrippa? Man, I've got tons of him."

Lily huffed. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I've never seen a picture move before."

Severus nodded understandingly while he chucked his card out of the window. "Muggle pictures don't move do they?"

Lily shook her head. Rereading it again, she asked Severus, "Hey Sev, who's Peevsies?"

"What? Do you mean Peeves?"

"I don't know, right here it says something about..."

* * *

It had been quite a while, he mused walking past the the couples that were having their kissy -kissy- fest again. Grinning, he pulled out his wand, and with a little flick, the couples' tongues were now permanently stuck together...

... At least until he decided to undo the spell. Ignoring the glares he was given, he gave them a cheery wave from the other side of the hallway.

"Mhrrrm hsesehk- dhkjs- hbhks!"

"Mm- hmm, that's right, Belby! Pretty soon you'll even be able to pronounce your "r"s properly as well! Isn't that great?"

"Grjdlfisd- busefj jlkdshv!"

"Same applies with you, Grinny! You and your hubby have such matching similarities, you're the best couple I've seen in years!"

"hksjdfhdslkdghdlfkjvhcubysdufyhseilhHOFJDHGSLDIGH DSLDJSLKGHIUVBYPWERJ!"

"Yup, that's right!" Grinning, he strolled away. That was enough teasing for now.

Why was it, you ask, that none of the professors caught him and took points?

It was quite simple really, nobody really cared about what happened to portraits.

His smile quickly faded though, and started jumping from portrait to portrait, heading to the Headmaster's Tower.

The trip was quick enough and before long, he was standing at his own honorary portrait frame in the Headmaster's Office. His eyes narrowed somewhat, and he spoke one word.

"Albus-san."

Said man raised his head from his Muggle sticker collection book.

"Ah, so you've come back. How did your escapades go?"

"Albus," He said warningly. "I'm not really in the mood right now."

Albus stiffened and out down Figurini Panini sticker album. "Alright," He said lightly, though the twinkle was gone from his eyes. "What do you want to say?"

"Albus-san, it's started. The downfall of the second Dark Lord; the pieces are starting to fall into place."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Trust me on this one, I'm not going See something this important wrong."

Albus stood up and walked toward the portrait, sticker album forgotten. "Tell me, what are the signs?"

"The day of the burning phoenix's birth, find the girl born in flames. Two men of the black, yet destined onto different paths, set in a circle around the fire. The child, born with everything, yet lost everything when the time came. Four times the defying; once in water, once in the air, once in the darkness, last is the final, final flame in the fire. And the end..."

"Yes?"

"This is one is for you, Albus. Death is the next great adventure. Temptation is our last hope's fall. What is real, may be fake, but never die in vain."

"... That's all?"

"What? Were you expecting more?" He drawled. "That was actually pretty long, taking my other predictions into consideration."

"The girl born in flames... two men of the black... around the fire... child who lost everything... and four times defying... air, water, darkness, and the final flame in the fire? What does this all mean?"

"... Are you asking me or the wall?" He grumbled. "And aren't you at least a little worried about the whole death in vain thing about you."

"...I'll... I'll figure that out later." Albus sighed. "This is far more important."

Kurosaki Ichigo grinned and laughed. "I knew there was something about you that I liked." And with he headed toward the staircase, purposely stepping on the sleeping occupants' feet in the room.

"You coming, Albus- san? It's almost time for you to welcome those brats."

* * *

James grinned and took another glance at the Lily girl. He resisted the urge to scowl.

Why did she have to be so weird? She was sorted into Gryffindor, but she kept throwing glances with the greasy Snivelly kid.

"Something wrong, James?" Next to him, Sirius grinned happily, obviously very happy.

"Nothing," James said automatically. "Hey, what's got you in such a good mood?"

Sirius grinned doggishly. "I got into GRYFFINDOR, that's what! My dear mum'll be _so _proud of me- NOT."

James laughed and swung his arm around his new found friend. "Have I already said that this is going to a start of a beautiful friendship?"

Sirius blinked stupidly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you said something like that back on the train."

James rolled his eyes and mock- punched Sirius. "You weren't supposed to say that, dimwit!"

"Ow!" Sirius yelped in surprise. "That hurt!"

"You know what, forget dimwit. You're just a plain old scared y- cat!"

And so on, and James forgot all about his thoughts about the strange red- haired girl. The mini fight quickly settled though, after all the first- years had been sorted, Professor Dumbledore started his usual pre- Feast speech.

Sirius nudged James and hissed, "You know, he isn't as happy I thought he was going to be."

"What do you mean?" James hissed back.

"Well- my family always told me how Dumbledore was all happy and twinkly eyed and how he how he annoyed the heck out of people with his happy vibes and all, but right now, he looks kind of-"

"Depressed." James finished for him, understanding perfectly.

"Exactly."

The feast came and went before James had even realized, it was over. Dumbledore stood up once more, and began to talk about rules and regulations, and the usual boring stuff; yada yada yada...

"... Our previous caretaker, Apollyon Pringle, has retired. So until the position has been filled, I am pleased to announce that a resident of the school, Kurosaki Ichigo will be taking up the job."

"Only for a year!" A voice snapped from the back. All the first- years- including James and Sirius- turned around to see... nothing? (The older students just sniggered quietly.)

"Oi, brats, up here." James looked up to see... a portrait?

"Yes, I am a picture of a dead person (not really, but you get the idea), and yes, I am talking to you. God, people are _slow _these days!" The man huffed and crossed his arms rather childishly and mumbled something unintelligible.

Dumbledore smiled and coughed gently before continuing. "Thank you, Ichigo. As you can see, this is a visual interpretation of our dear fifth founder, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Kurosaki (Or was it Kororsacy? James couldn't remember.) sighed again, and plopped down on the 'floor.'

Sirius grinned and nudged James (again). "With him as a caretaker, setting pranks should be _easy._"

James smothered the smile that was slowly forming on his face. A portrait? Trying to catch people breaking the rules? When it couldn't even _move?_ This year's list of pranks would be finished earlier than planned.

As the prefects led the first-years to their House dormitories, James and Sirius sniggered to each in the back of the line...

"Man, this year's gonna be a breeze."

"Yeah! Which is why we're going to spice it up a little, Sirius, my old pal!"

"... You're going to kill everyone with your shenanigans, aren't you?"

"I don't really know what 'shenanigans' are, but that's the idea."

"HOLY SHIT THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!" Sirius hollered out in excitement, attracting the odd look of a slightly pale, shabby boy in front of them.

"Sorry 'bout that," James said quickly. "My friend here is a bit... hyper right now."

"S'ok," The boy muttered, then turned around.

"No," James grabbed the shoulder of the boy. "Really. We're sorry. What's your name?"

"Remus," The boy said meekly, "Remus Lupin."

"Remus," James smiled and pulled his in front of him. "Let's be friends, alright?"

Remus stared at it, and looking a bit lost, shook James' hand.

"Alright."

* * *

Ichigo was starting to get a bit bored.

It was fun to pull stunts on the people that his magic would affect because they never seemed to expect it. But eventually, that got boring.

And that was exactly the problem. The only people he could cast magic on were the people who were painted on by an artist, stuck on a canvas for the rest of their boring, miserable lives.

That is, unless they were burned. But even that was not definite. If Ichigo's frame were to be burned right now, he wouldn't die. He himself had to be burned; not just the canvas.

"Password?" He drawled, the Fat Lady spluttering indignantly behind him.

The prefect (What was his name again?) sighed. "Kurosaki, would you mind untying the Fat Lady so we can get in."

"'Kurosaki, would you mind?' 'Kurosaki, would you do that?' 'Kurosaki could you get out the way?'" Ichigo grumbled. "That's all people say these days. And to your question, no, because I won't do anything until you say the password."

"Fingersprouts."

Ichigo raised his eyebrow. "So _that_ was the password? I swear, the Fat Lady thinks up stranger and stranger passwords every year." But he got up. "Alright, you've got your Fat Lady back." And with that, he got up and hopped to the next frame.

"K-Kurosaki! You were supposed to untie the Fat Lady!"

Ichigo grinned. "But I never said that, did I? I said that I wouldn't 'do anything until you said the password.' So I'm actually being nice for one and doing something! I'm walking away!"

"KUROSAKI! I swear, if you don't untie-"

Cackling, Ichigo turned the corner as he untied his hair.

* * *

And that's all for now.

In case you're wondering, Ichigo has semi- longish hair, long enough to keep in a ponytail.

... And the fact that Ichigo is a Seer...? Okay, I have no idea how that popped up, but I've got a decent explanation for that, which I won't explain because it'll explain itself later in the story.

If you haven't noticed, Ichigo's personality is a bit different than usual. That's because he's been alive for quite for a long time. So he behaves like Orihime once in a while, with her childish disposition, sometimes like his usual firey self, sometimes very very serious, and at other times, a snarky guy who likes playing games with people.

Last thing. The question for today (I doubt anyone ever reads this though): How the heck did Ichigo even end up as a portrait? Is this an AU?

To **urufushinigami**: Somehow, I managed to fit shenanigans in there. I wonder how...


	3. find

Lily glanced around nervously at the empty corridor she stood in.

Her first day wasn't going very well.

Not only did she not like her roommates, her roommates didn't like her. The annoying prat, James, got on her nerves during breakfast; and now she was unmistakably lost. She would've gone with Severus, but he had different classes than her.

She sighed and walked down the first the first corridor she saw. Why did her life suck so much?

"Lost, brat?" A voice said behind her.

Lily whirled around and frowned.

"The name is Lily Evans, sir." She said to the picture, as politely as possible.

"Whatever." Kurosaki sighed, and stared at the 'sky' in mock boredom. "You'll always be a little gaki to me. And don't call me sir, it makes me feel old."

Lily frowned inwardly. Were all the faculty this rude? She had no idea what gaki meant, but by the way he said it, it wasn't a good thing. "Well then, _sir_, what do you want me to call you?"

Kurosaki's eyebrow twitched slightly. "How about by name? Use your common sense, geez." He muttered, slight annoyance in his tone.

"Very well then Kurosaki," Lily said coolly, "I'll be off." And with that, she marched off in search of the Charms classroom.

"You're going the wrong way you know," His grumble stopped Lily again. "You _are _going to Charms, right? Man, I can't keep this schedule straight in my head."

"Oh, so it's the other way?" Lily motioned behind her skeptically. "But isn't that the direction of the Great Hall? Severus said that the Charms classroom was on the other side of the school."

Kurosaki rolled his eyes. "Of _course_ it's on the other of the school, where else could it be? In the sky? Your sense of direction sucks, you know. You keep walking towards the Charms room, then U- turning and heading back to the Great Hall. Then when you finally managed to stop walking in circles, you started walking towards the Slytherin common room! What is _wrong _with you, lady?!"

Lily blushed a little. "Well, this is the first day! You can't expect me to remember every single inch of the castle!"

Kurosaki stared at her like she was crazy. "Who said that you were supposed to?"

Lily resisted the urge to smack her head and inwardly cursed at the annoying man. "Well I'm sorry for misunderstanding; now will you please let me go? I don't want to be any later than I already am."

Kurosaki slipped to the next frame down the corridor. "Alright, then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

This time, Lily really did facepalm.

"… WAIT!"

Lily was extremely out of breath by the time they arrived at the classroom.

"You- hah- didn't have to go that- hah- fast, you know." She gasped out.

"I wasn't going fast, gaki, you were just going too slow." Kurosaki sniffed daintily. "It's not my fault that you're not physically fit for exercise and light running."

"Did you just_ sniff daintily_? Besides, don't insult my slow running. You cheated!" Lily snorted crossly. "You can get to the end of a hallway just by walking from one frame to another! That's no fair!"

"How is that no fair?! It's called 'taking advantage of your advantages!' Being a portrait has tons of cons, so there has to be some type of pro to it!" Kurosaki snapped.

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't want to live a miserable existence as a magical copy of someone who's already dead!" Lily roared, losing her temper.

Kurosaki froze, and for a horrible, sickening moment, Lily thought he was going to snap.

_This is bad, bad, bad, _Lily thought to herself. She had just insulted the caretaker of Hogwarts, and he was definitely allowed to take points. Even worse than taking points, she would probably be expelled! Oh, her parents would be so ashamed if she got kicked out on the first day! _Oh no, _She thought miserably. _This is the worst day of my life._

But all Kurosaki did was smile oddly at her.

"Who said I was dead?"

And with that, he left Lily standing alone; standing in front of the classroom door.

The Fifth Founder must have been a girl in disguise, Lily thought with slight confusion.

"He's way too bipolar not to be."

* * *

"Oi, Minervy."

'Minervy' turned around. "It's Minerva, Mr. Kurosaki. And we're in the middle of a class. Come and bother me later."

"Please, Minny? I won't bother you again for a week." Ichigo said cheerily. "Please? Pretty please? And besides, your hair looks too bubbly for me too just ignore it."

McGonagall turned to look at Ichigo warily. "A week? You won't bother me for a week? Not even for my bubbly hair?"

"Nope! Well, unless it's really important." Ichigo said.

"Define important."

"Important: For some type of noun to be very… er, very… what's the word I'm looking for… ah! For it to be very important. Wait… that doesn't work… Minny, this is too _hard_. Can you just come with me?"

McGonagall sighed and walked out into the corridor, ignoring the faces of her amused sixth year Gryffindors.

"Want some tea- wait, never mind, you can't drink this- Albus really needs to find a way to turn painted teacups into the real china kind- Mivvy, get out your quill and parchment already- You people are so stiff, maybe sushi will help- but that doesn't mean you have to eat the sashimi-"

"Mr. Kurosaki, mind getting to the point?" McGonagall asked dryly. "I didn't come here to listen to your rambling about sushi and kimchi again."

"Kimchi?! That's Korean," Ichigo scoffed. "I don't ramble about Korean food, unless you're talking about rice or curry or something- wait, do Koreans even eat that? Minny, would you mind looking that up for me? They _should_ eat rice, what kind of Far East country doesn't? But curry… er, let's see, curry came from India, went to China, Japan, and um- come on history lesson, come back to me…"

"Mr. Kurosaki," McGonagall snapped. "If you do not stop your rambling this instant, I will throw away my parchment and use my quill to draw a mustache on your face. And you will still have to uphold your side of the agreement."

"Minerva," Ichigo said quietly. "Just so that you won't forget, would you mind writing down, word for word, what I'm about to say?"

McGonagall stiffened. Ichigo rarely ever called her by her actual name, preferring the use of some sort of nickname. "Alright, I'm listening."

Ichigo frowned grimly and said, "Okay. 'Carefully falling rain, falling in perfect choreography. When eating ice cream, it's best to eat it in the rain, because then your hot dogs won't get wet. Also, ice cream likes hot dog, so they ought to get married at St. Louis.' Got it all?"

"… Ichigo!" McGonagall roared. "I don't have time for this! I have a class to teach!"

"Aw, Mivner, lighten up!" Ichigo giggled out. "Anyways, what I really want to say is; can you keep an eye on one of the first- years for me? Her name is Lily Evans."

"Lily Evans?" McGonagall asked. "I suppose that she's a Gryffindor. Are you going to take her as a student?"

It was not a very well known fact, but every once in a while, Ichigo stumbled upon a student that he found curious. More often than not, that particular student usually found themselves stuck with a rather annoying teacher that rarely ever shut up.

"Maybe, it all depends on her, you know." Ichigo answered mysteriously. "And she's a feisty one, you know. Reminds me of you when you were young."

"Ichigo, I am twenty- five. I think I'm still considered young," McGonagall said.

"Well then, act more like it! You're my former student, stop being all stiff and formal with me! As your sensei, I command it!"

"Yes, whatever."

"Okay, that was just rude." Ichigo sat down. "Also, would you mind doing this little thing for me…"

McGonagall sighed. "Well, I suppose that as one of the professors, I'm entitled to help on that one."

"Really? Yes! So first, we'll need Dungbombs from Zonko's. Then add in a Muggle whoopee cushion or two and a few charms, it'll be perfect!"

"…"

"Hey, hey, HEY! What are you doing? No, stop it- AHH! NO! DON'T! NOT THE MUSTACHE AGAIN! OI!"

"I'm not going to help if it goes that far," McGonagall sniffed as Ichigo desperately tried to rub the ink off the canvas while he started laughing and crying at the same time. "And Mr. Kurosaki, I'm afraid I must leave now, my class is waiting." And she strode away, leaving Ichigo to laugh alone. He wiped his eyes and sighed.

"You know, in times like this, I really wish you were here, Rukia."

* * *

James grinned devilishly at Sirius, Remus, and the newest member of their ragtag group, Peter Pettigrew. "Okay guys, time for our very first prank at Hogwarts!"

Remus shifted nervously as Sirius whooped and Peter looked very excited. "Er… Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

James rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Come on, Remus, it'll be easy. I chose a nice and simple one for today. All we're going to do is set off a few Dungbombs in the Great Hall. If all goes according to plan, nobody'll know it was us!"

"But what if it doesn't go to plan?" Remus muttered darkly.

Sirius jumped to help assure Remus. "Of course it will! Even if we leave early, nobody really cares. Besides, you and Peter don't really have to do anything. Just bring the Dungbombs, give it to us, and leave. Then me and James will throw the Dungbombs from opposite sides of the room, and when it goes off at the Head table, nobody will know where exactly it came from. Then, we leave the Great Hall and regroup at the Gryffindor common room."

But it was slightly more complicated than that, James mused. After class, everyone would unload their books as quickly as possible and stuff their bags with as many bombs as possible without it looking too suspiciously bulky. The Dungbombs were the ones that James and Sirius had brought from home, as it was kind of obvious if they owled their parents and asked for _prank items, _of all things.

Everything had to be perfect before and during dinner, in case a professor walked past them while they were walking to the Great Hall. After the prank however, there would be no one in the halls, as everyone was still at supper. They could scream, yell, and no one would even notice. James suppressed his excitement and the urge to jump up and down like a rabbit. This was going to be GREAT.

Before long, James' and co's last class, Transfiguration, came and passed, and everything quickly went into action.

"Come on," James hissed to Peter, who was bumbling along slowly. "We need to get to the dormitories before anyone else gets there."

Peter nodded anxiously and started into a slow run.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, the not yet named Marauders practically Apparated to the table. To James' surprise, the redhead, Lily came to sit next to him.

"Don't take it personally," She muttered when he opened his mouth to ask. "I seem to have gained an infamous reputation among the girls in our year."

James would have said something like "I knew you couldn't resist my good looks", but he was too busy shoveling food into his mouth.

Lily covered her mouth in disgust.

In a few minutes, the four was done eating and Remus and Peter silently kicked over their book bags to James and Sirius from under the table and stood up.

"Are you going to bed already?" Lily asked curiously.

"Erm… yeah," Remus said awkwardly while Peter fidgeted nervously.

"What happened to your bags?" Lily pressed on. At Remus and Peter's surprised glances, she turned red. "Sorry, I noticed that you brought them to dinner. Not too many people do."

Yes, most people didn't, James realized with shock. It wasn't like there were any more classes after dinner. They probably stood out more if they brought bags to the Great Hall.

"Sirius and I," James started, kicking Sirius with his foot. "Needed to copy some of Remus and Peter's notes, so I asked them to give it to us during dinner."

"Ow- Oh! I mean, yeah!" Sirius added in quickly.

Lily glared at them suspiciously. "You do realize that you guys are all in Gryffindor, right? Couldn't you two just get from them after supper?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I forgot about that," James scratched his neck in false sheepishness.

Sirius mouthed frantically at James, _Call it off, call it off! _

James gulped. He really, really, really wanted to go through with this. But Lily was getting too suspicious, and she would definitely notice if both Sirius got up from the table.

"And besides, it's only the first day," Lily continued, completely oblivious to James' thinking. "You can't have gotten anything that you need to finish tonight on _the first day._"

"Yeah well," James said, suddenly remembering that Lily was a Muggle-Born and that she didn't know that no one ever took notes on Binns' class, "I sort of fell asleep during History of Magic, and Remus and Peter actually took notes, and I figured that it'd be best if I did it tonight, so…"

And Lily when nodded in understanding, and then stood up and left for the library, James sighed in relief. Remus and Peter left, and Sirius and James exchanged conspiratorial looks.

"Let's go," Sirius whispered.

James nodded and silently walked to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw side of the Great Hall, while Sirius crept to the end of the Gryffindor table.

Their plan was to set it off at Sirius' count of five, but…

James yelped as he was suddenly grabbed by the collar by a Slytherin.

"What's a Gryffindork doing on this side of the Hall?" He sneered, and his fellow Slytherins crowded in to watch.  
James squeaked in surprise. This was not part of the plan. One of them grabbed James' bag.

"H-Hey!"

"What's this? Dungbombs?" The Slytherin scoffed. "Planning to prank us, first-year?"

"No I wasn't," James snapped. "Now let me go."

"Why, ickle- Gryffindork?" One of the girls said, with her nose pointed up in the air. "'No I wasn't, now let me go.'" She mimed. "What'll you give us?"

"Yeah! Payment in exchange for a safe passage!" One of them whooped.

James frowned. There was no way he could overpower them; they were better in size and skill. But perhaps he could outwit them…

"Heh, were going to try to worm your way out of this?" another Slytherin piped in. "Don't even bother trying; we're known as cunning for a reason."

James noticed Sirius looking at him worriedly, and he quickly shook his head when Sirius made elaborate hand motions that James interpreted as Sirius coming over and helping. He didn't want Sirius to get in trouble too.

He opened his mouth to make a comeback at the Slytherins, but a loud, ripping noise stopped him.

_RRRRiiiipppppp- Pop!_

James stared and gaped in surprise as the entire Slytherin table's green and silver decorations turned red and gold, and all the Slytherins' hair changed into what resembled a lion's mane. Pieces of parchment floated down as the Great Hall burst into laughter.

_Sorry pipsqueaks. Bullying isn't allowed at Hogwarts._

_-Ichigo Kurosaki_

James whooped with laughter, joining in with everyone else. A sudden motion caught his eye, and James saw Sirius grinning and pointing at the Head table, and then his bag.

James grinned, and they both threw their bags as far as they could.

_RRRRiiiipppppp- Pop!_

To Sirius and James' horror and everyone else's delight, the Dungbombs exploded in midair, right above said two Marauders. As the stink wafted over James, a piece of parchment landed in his hand.

Carefully, James unfolded it.

"Pff- What is this- Blood?!"

_Can't say that I'm sorry, but it makes you feel any better, I fully _

_support pranking. The problem is that it's against the rules. _

_So, yeah. Better luck next time, and _do_ try not to get caught._

_ Note that I know the secret passages of Hogwarts, and all should be well._

_-Ichigo Kurosaki_

_P.S. Anyone who actually thought this was blood needs to become_

_less gullible._

Later, both James and Sirius would swear that it was McGonagall's handwriting, but nobody believed them. After all, Professor McGonagall would never support pranking.

It was against the school rules…

* * *

In case nobody caught it, Ichigo asked McGonagall to set up 'defenses' that would activate when someone broke the school rules. Seeing as McGonagall was Ichigo's former student back when she was still in school, she knows how to have a bit of fun now and then.

**Guest**: I hope this chapter kind of answers your question, by the way. Right now, nobody knows where the real Ichigo is. Is the portrait really Ichigo? Or just a portrait? What the heck happened to his body? What does he mean that he's "not dead?"

Anyways, greetings from China! I think it's like sometime in the night in America right now, but it's only 10 in the morning here, so… The wifi here seems to work really slowly on American websites, and sometimes they won't load. It'll take a bit longer for me to update for the next few weeks.

And PM me or something if you have questions. I'm pretty sure I forgot to write down something here…


	4. you

"I need your help."

Ichigo scowled lightly. "Okay. Gaki, if you needed help on your homework or something, why don't you ask your classmates or professors or something? I'm just the caretaker."

Lily Evans stood in front of said person and frowned. "None of my classmates like me very much," She said quietly, shifting uncomfortably. "And the professors are really busy, and they can't _really_ help me on what I want to know."

"And what exactly do you want to know?"

Lily took a deep breath. "I want to know about how Hogwarts was built. Why was it built? Why is it the only school in England? If wizards have been around for so long, how come there aren't more people living that are wizards? Muggle technology is improving quickly, so is there any way to put wizard and Muggle ideas together to make something completely different? Why isn't there a physical education class here? What if we don't get enough exercise? What's the point of having a ghost as History of Magic if we'll never learn anything? How do ghosts work anyway? When the professors ask you to write your essay and measure it, how are you supposed to when you don't have a ruler? Do you just guess? If not, why didn't they write down rulers in the supply list? Do they even have rulers in Diagon Alley? How do wizards get Muggle clothes without making a fool of themselves? And-"

"Okay, okay, okay, I see why professors couldn't answer your questions. They'd probably walk away half way through your blabbering." Ichigo opened his eyes and looked at Lily queerly, almost like she was an interesting specimen under his magnifying glass. She fidgeted. "But seriously, how the heck did you get so many questions when you've only been here for a month?"

"More like I've already been here for a month," Lily answered. "I dug around a little in the library, and a lot of questions formed."

"Ah. That library's pretty useless, huh? Rowena always hated it."

"Rowena?" Lily asked. "As in Rowena Ravenclaw? But couldn't she have just written all the books herself?"

"That takes time, gaki." Ichigo said. "She actually was going to do that, but she died early, you know. She never did tell any of us where she put her works, so they've been lost through the centuries."

"Oh," Lily said. Ichigo could see that she was at a loss. Quickly, she changed the subject. "When were you found?"

"I wasn't _found_," Ichigo said. Was she crazy? "I was _born_, idiot. I'd prefer to keep my childhood a bit of a secret, but I can tell you this. I was not adopted, my parents were beings called _homo sapiens_- You know what, scratch that. I'm not even sure whether they were considered human or not. I existed, I was not an alien, and did not believe in the supernatural until certain _circumstances,_" He winced at the word. "Forced me to become more open minded."

"I didn't mean that," Lily grumbled. She probably hated being called _stupid _or _idiot, _Ichigo mused, and put the information away for further consideration. "And how can you look like a person, not be an alien, but your parents weren't human? Besides, where was your_ portrait _found?_"_

"Oooh," Ichigo nodded in understanding. "Well, after this portrait was created, I was eventually stolen- It was bound to happen," He added after Lily's wince. "I annoyed the hell out of all of them, and eventually I landed in a Muggle antique shop after a few centuries. There, the Ministry _finally _seemed to realize that I existed, and sent this girl wizard guy to come and pick me up."

"Girl wizard guy? Do you mean girly wizard guy?"

"Nope. Well, I guess he wasn't really girl. But he did crossdress."

"?!"

"Well anyways, now that you've become my apprentice, call me sensei."

"Sensei? What does that even mean? And since when did I become your apprentice? I just asked you for some help."

"You became my apprentice when you asked me for help! I'll be supervising everything you do until your last year here! Now come on! In attempt to copy that Sir Cardigan guy upstairs, I say Ohoi! Onwards To A New Adventure!"

"... It's Sir Cadogan..."

* * *

"So, you have taken her as a student?" Albus asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, and flopped down onto the bed that was painted into Mistress Mollywurgle's portrait. Said mistress squawked in protest, until Ichigo silenced her with a wave of his wand.

"Molly, or whatever your name is, would you mind moving to another frame? We're a bit busy right now."

Albus wisely said nothing of Ichigo's poor manners. "And I assume that you think she is the one of the prophecy?"

Ichigo looked at Albus. "Maybe..." He said slowly. "But I wouldn't be too sure if I were you. Things like this can't really be assumed unless it's been said outright. Besides, I didn't take her in because of that."

"If Ms. Evans is 'the fire,' some things are cleared up. The two men circling around the fire, they must have some type of close relation to her. And the last flame in the fire, perhaps...?"

The idea was left lingering in the air, unspoken and untouched, but still there.

"But there's still the child and the whole defying part," Ichigo pointed out, purposely changing the subject. "Air, water, and darkness. Ooh, that doesn't sound so good, that last one. And we can't even prove that that girl born in flames is Lily in the first place, so there."

"Ah yes, but there is still a way to see," Albus started pacing. "On the day of burning phoenix's birth is what it said."

"Okay, that's just stupid." Ichigo said irritably. "Burning phoenix's birth? First off, there are millions of phoenixes out there, and how are we supposed to know which phoenix the prophecy's talking about, much less know their birth date? And are we talking about the actual birth, or that rebirth thing that phoenixes do every once in a while? And besides, there's probably tons of people born on days where a phoenix is born, or reborn, so that still doesn't prove anything. And how do we know the prophecy is actually talking about an actual phoenix? It could be a metaphor of some sorts. And why am I saying 'phoenix' so many times?!"

"Calm down, friend," Albus consoled at the inflamed man. "Perhaps we cannot figure it out now. Then all we can do is wait."

"I'm not exactly known for my patience Albus." Ichigo grumbled.

"Yes, yes," Albus said absentmindedly. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I've found two people willing to take the spot of caretaker."

"Two?" Ichigo perked up.

"Yes, two. Would you like to choose which one I should hire?"

"Nah," Ichigo shook his head. "Why don't we get both of them? It's not like we're short on money or anything, and the more the merrier, right?"

Albus hesitated for a split second, but then nodded. "Yes, you're right. Very well, they will be arriving during the winter holidays."

* * *

It was an odd thing really; Ichigo realized dimly, how quickly the tables turned against you. Because he certainly was not expecting this.

"Hello! My name is Kuro- I mean, Isshin Kurosaki! I'm one of the new caretakers! Nice to meet you!" Kurosaki Isshin bowed, and when he looked up, Ichigo saw the familiar friendly eyes and cheerful smile.

Almost unnoticeably, Ichigo flinched.

_Why? Why now? Soul Society never took any attention to the wizarding world. Think, think! What caught their attention? Maybe it was me? I wasn't here the first time around, was I? Wait no… it couldn't be…_

"And my name is Sosuke Aizen, it is a pleasure to meet you." A smooth voice said, and Ichigo felt the hairs on his neck rise.

Aizen, in all his glory, bowed politely and smiled agreeably. "I am the second caretaker. Please take care of my colleague and I."

"Colleague?" Slughorn stepped forward, intrigued by the two foreigners. "Did you two know each other before this?"

"Oh yeah," Isshin answered. "We're old friends. We went to school together and all, so when we both wanted to move to England, we decided it to make it a contest on who would get a job first." He scratched his neck sheepishly. "What we didn't realize though, is that we both got the same job…"

Ichigo snapped out of his daze. "So you two are basically like a married couple huh? Practically inseparable." He joked.

Aizen smiled amiably, not at all fazed. "I personally wouldn't take it that far, Mr…?"

Ichigo forced out a grin. "Believe it or not, it's Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Isshin stared at Ichigo, and then poked Aizen. "Why is a portrait talking?" He muttered blankly. But then he grinned. "Ah, whatever! So you're a Kurosaki, eh? Nice name by the way. Is it supposed to be Ichi, Go; ichigo; or Ichi go?"

Ichigo stared at Isshin. "I have no idea what you're saying. Anyways, I have stuff to do, so I'll take my leave." And true to his word, Ichigo left. He didn't think he could stand any longer.

Isshin poked Aizen again. "Hey, did we make him mad or something? He seemed kind of tense."

Aizen opened his mouth to answer, but the staff bombarded the two shinigami with questions, and eventually the odd orange haired man left their thoughts.

* * *

"What the _hell _were you thinking?!" Ichigo snapped once Albus reentered his office.

"What were _you_ thinking, Ichigo?" Albus countered mildly. "I was under the impression that we, as the staff of Hogwarts are supposed to greet new members with respect and courtesy."

"Don't try and change the subject." Ichigo hissed. "Where in hell did you find those two?"

Albus sighed and sat down on his chair. "Remind me that I should never underestimate you, Ichigo. So, what do you want to know?"

"You can't find people like that through normal means, Albus. I doubt they're even wizards." Ichigo growled. "How did you get in contact with them?"

Albus leaned back on his chair. "When I was young," He started. "Long before I ever started school, I encountered a strange creature. A creature of darkness."

_Hollow._

"I attempted to use my wild, uncontrolled magic to destroy it, but to my surprise, it had no effect on the creature." Albus paused and then continued. "The only reason I survived is because of the interference of Sosuke Aizen, who destroyed that creature and saved my life."

_Damnit, why must it always be Aizen? _

"And I suppose you two kept in touch?" Ichigo asked tersely.

Albus nodded. "Apparently, wizards intrigued him. He asked me to keep him informed on what happened. We met up once a year. I did not complain, as he certainly did save my life."

"But weren't you suspicious as to why he wanted to know so much?" Ichigo pressed, inwardly cursing. This was bad. Really bad. "And what exactly what are those two?"

"I'm afraid, Ichigo, that I cannot tell you," Albus said sadly, looking at Ichigo with his bright blue eyes. "That man has told me things that I swore to keep to myself until I am on my deathbed."

_So, he knows about shinigami? Soul Society probably doesn't know about that part…_

"Fine, fine, I'm not that interested in the specifics anyway," Ichigo growled. "But what were you thinking when you brought them to _Hogwarts _of all places? Are you crazy; the gakis could be killed!"

"Ichigo," Albus said earnestly. "I know that you do not trust them. That is natural. But I _trust_ them, Ichigo. They will not harm the students. No, they will help us defeat Tom if they deem it necessary, because that is the reason they have come here."

"And if they don't deem necessary?" Ichigo demanded. "What will these people do then?"

"Then they will leave, in peace." Albus answered calmly. "Besides, I doubt that they will leave. Tom is far too much of a threat."

"And sometimes you trust too easily," Ichigo snapped. "Do you have any idea what these sh- people will affect wizards?"

"No, I don't," Albus said, helping himself to a lemon drop. "Care to enlighten me?"

_"I'm sorry, Ichigo. But… we just can't risk it. We must do this, for the sake of our students." _

"Guess what? I don't either," Ichigo hissed, lying easily. "And that's the problem. _I don't know what the fuck is going to happen. _What if they decide to turn their backs on us? Then we'd be powerless because nobody knows what we're up against."

_"From what you have told us, your power is strong. Slowly, they will start to affect us in ways we do not understand. And that _must not happen to the students. _I am sorry. We have no choice." _

"But I know this," Ichigo continued. "You are playing a risky game, Albus. You've brought out a wildcard."

_"With this spell, you will be forever stuck in the world of paint, until Hogwarts' magic fades and her students leave. Your power cannot affect us there, so there you will stay."_

Albus raised his eyebrow. "I thought you liked the risky lifestyle."

"Do know that 30 years ago, the Muggles in the United States of America pulled out all the stops and grabbed their atomic bombs after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? After that, Japan surrendered to America under the threat of America's 3rd bomb, which didn't actually exist." Ichigo paused for breath. "That was America's wildcard Albus, and it worked in their favor. But what if Japan had atomic bombs as well? It would've evened out the playing field once again, and the war would've continued, and this time, with much higher stakes."

"But that will not happen," Albus said stoutly. "Have faith, Ichigo. Believe in Sosuke Aizen and your namesake, Kurosaki Isshin. Perhaps he is your descendant, or ancestor. It is rather hard to say."

Ichigo cracked a wry smile. "Oh, the irony."

* * *

Ahh… I'm done. Thank you everyone, whether it lived up to your expectations or not, for looking at this story from my other one. I realize and that I sounded kind of whiny there, so sorry about that. :P

Thanks to **Qwerty321 **for some good advice on story plotting, and **urufushinigami**, whose story ideas I will probably use later. And I have tweaked with the summary a little, once I realized that it did not really fit with my idea of the story, and when enough people told me to make it more interesting.

**Guest**: Sorry, can't add them in. Masaki and Ryuuken aren't even born yet, how can I add in Orihime, Uryuu, and Chad? Umm, I don't have WiFi while I'm typing this, but I'm pretty sure you mentioned Rukia and Renji. I'm actually considering adding Renji in later, but Rukia probably won't show up. I doubt Soul Society would send her in anyways, she's not even a seated officer at this time. On the other hand, Aizen and Isshin showed up! Together! I hope you are still happy.

I feel so weird. I haven't been many using many apostrophes in my writing, because Dumbledore and apostrophes do not go well together. Then I realize that when I'm writing this, my writing is still all weird and unapostrophe-ish. Huh. Now I wish that unapostrophe-ish was actually a word.


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